


Puedes Contar Conmigo

by cgual98



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Foster Family, I'm Sorry, Keith has anxiety, Korean Keith (Voltron), Latino Lance (Voltron), Like I literally wrote an entire family of OCs, M/M, Mentions of past child abuse, Minor Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Panic Attacks, a lot of OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-07-28 12:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7640461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cgual98/pseuds/cgual98
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith has never had anyone to rely on, and learned from a young age that it would always be like that. Jumping from foster family to foster family, he couldn’t wait for the day he would age out of the system. However, when he meets the Holt family, Keith finds out what it means to be part of a family. Add in a gorgeous neighbor and his loving family, and Keith thinks that maybe, for once in his life, he might actually have a home.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“My God it’s hot here. Keith, how are you not sweating in that jacket?”

The voice of Amara Page immediately brought Keith back down to Earth, awakening him from his daydream.

“What?” Keith asked.

“The heat Keith, isn’t it bothering you?”

“Not really.” Keith replied. He could have explained himself, told her how the heat felt like a home he could vaguely remember, how the cold had come to resemble cold emotions, and how turning on the AC often felt more like a punishment than a gift, but “not really” would suffice for his social worker, and Keith knew it.

Amara wasn’t one to pry, as she “wasn’t his therapist,” as she had told him almost as soon as they had met. Keith respected that. Amara, or ‘Miss Page’ was a woman who was only interested in getting her job done, nothing more, nothing less. She would put her kids in good homes, and take them out if they were being treated poorly. She was a no-nonsense type of women, which Keith imagined was the reason she was almost 40 years old and without any sort of relationship. One mistake, one forgotten anniversary, or one insensitive comment, and Keith could clearly picture the woman kicking them right out the door without a single tear shed, no matter how long the relationship had been. 2 weeks or 2 years, time was irrelevant to Amara Page.

In all honesty, that’s probably why she had been assigned to Keith Mayong’s case in the first place. After being placed in the foster care system at age 6, and having spoken barely a word of english, it was predicted from the start that Keith would never find a permanent home. And as time went on, his chances continued to dwindle.

By the time Keith was 11, though he had gained fluency in english due to his complete immersion, he had lost all chances of finding a home. He knew he had aged out, and was sure he was through. That is, until the first family fostered him. They had lived in a small home, and were kind to Keith. But, after 3 years of living with the Michelson family, Robert Michelson, Keith’s foster father, had lost his job, leaving the family without income, and Keith was forced to leave. This was followed by a year with another family, who Keith had known from the beginning would only be temporary. After a couple of months back in the system, Keith then found himself in the care of another family, who, although started out in California, had moved to Washington state a few months in. After a year and a half, Keith left the Parchell couple, regretting ever even thinking he had found a home with them.

Keith knew that his chances this time were as slim as always. He wasn’t exactly a likeable person, and he was 17 years old. There would be no purpose in an adoption at this point, and honestly, Keith couldn’t wait to just age out. He only had a year left after all, and besides, the family he was moving in with seemed to be tolerable enough. A woman named Grace Holt, and her daughter, Katie. So not really much of a family, but Keith prefered the quiet anyway.

The Holts lived in Sahuarita, Arizona, and Amara hadn’t stopped complaining since they entered the state. Keith had been tuning it out, and was only vaguely aware of her chatter.

“Keith. KEITH.”

“What?” Keith replied harshly.

“I need you to listen to me now. We’re going to be arriving at the Holt’s soon, and there are some things we need to go over.” Amara spoke looking down over her glasses, as if there was nothing more important on Earth than what was written on her clipboard. Maybe to her it was, but to Keith it meant nothing. He nodded in agreement anyway so as to avoid having to deal with her bad mood for the rest of the car ride.

“So, Grace Holt, she’s is a single mother, raising her daughter Katie. She used to be married, but lost her husband and son two years ago .”

That piqued Keith’s interest. “What happened to them?”

“That you’ll have to ask them yourself, though I wouldn’t recommend walking in the door and immediately asking Mrs. Holt about her dead husband and child.”

Keith smirked. Even though he and Amara had their differences, she did understand him, to some extent. Although, she had been working his case since he was 7. If she didn’t understand him at least a little bit by now, she should look into another career.

Before Keith knew it, the car was turning down a small street, right off of the main road. There were a few houses, all moderately sized on either side. If Keith strained his eyes, he could just barely make out a larger, older looking house at the end of the street. Keith vaguely wondered who lived there, before his thoughts were, once again, interrupted by his social worker. He heard Amara (who would now become ‘Miss Page’ due to the presence of Mrs. Holt) tell him to get out of the car, and “try to look pleasant.” In other words, wipe the scowl off your face.

Keith exited the car and looked around. The house wasn’t unique in any way, with a small yard with dead grass and a driveway that led up to a front door, all of which was surrounded by white siding. There were 3 windows Keith could see, and the house kind of reminded him of the stereotypical kind a child would draw. Nothing special to be seen at all, no defining characteristics, not even any chipped paint.

As Amara and Keith walked up the wooden steps, a tall, thin women opened the front door. She was petite, in every sense of the word, with sharp cheekbones, thin lips, and a dirty blonde pixie cut. Keith feared that Grace Holt would end up being another “no nonsense” type foster mom who had strict rules and gave no freedom whatsoever. However, as soon as she spotted Keith, and her mouth broke into a wide smile, all of Keith’s previous assumptions of her dispersed. She appeared to be a different person entirely, and looked almost like she wanted to jump up and give Keith the biggest hug she could. Keith really hoped she didn’t.

“Good morning Mrs. Holt. I’m Amara Page, Keith’s Mayong’s social worker. I’ll be stopping in to check on you all every two weeks, and as time goes on, that will drop to once a month. That won’t be a problem, will it?” Although Amara sounded polite, Keith recognized the threatening tone.

“Not at all! Now, do I need to take care of anything, or are we free to get Keith settled in?” Mrs. Holt asked kindly.

We? Keith thought.

Almost as though she knew what Keith was thinking, Mrs. Holt added , “That is, my daughter Katie and I.”

A small girl appeared in the doorframe, and Keith had to guess that she was no older than 14. She had an iPhone in hand, and appeared totally distracted by what was on the screen. Keith noted dully that it was an iPhone 4, an older model. The girl looked like her mother, with the same petite frame, the same pinched nose, and the same shortly cut hair, although Katie’s was much messier than her mom’s, as though she had cut it herself.

“Actually,” Amara stated, looking over the bridge of her glasses, “I do need to discuss some things with you, in private.”

“No problem!” Mrs. Holt replied with a smile, “We can go speak in the kitchen. Katie, go ahead and help Keith with his things. Miss Page, would you like some coffee?”

With Amara trailing behind Mrs. Holt, Keith found himself left in the doorway of the home, making eye contact with a stranger who Keith had a feeling was too smart for her own good.

Finally, after what felt like hours, but only a few moments, Katie said, “Follow me,” then turned sharply on her heel and went up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my very first fic, sorry if there are any gramatical errors, and please let me know if there is anything i need to fix. This first chapter does work as a prologue of sorts. The story really starts in the next chapter, which will be longer and should be posted soon. Thanks for reading! 
> 
> My Wonderful Beta  
> http://voxamissa.tumblr.com/
> 
> My Tumblr  
> http://mattmurdoxxx.tumblr.com/


	2. Chapter 2

Keith had been lead by Katie into a moderately sized bedroom with red walls, a desk, and a bed in the center of the room. There were no pictures on the wall, but Keith did notice a window on the right hand side of the room.

“The room’s never been used before. Mom says you can decorate it however you want, she just wants you to tell her if you change anything big. Bathroom is down the hall and two doors down to the left, my room is on the right. Mom’s room is upstairs.” Katie said all of this without making eye contact, and had a tone that stated she would rather be anywhere else.

“Thanks, Katie.” Keith said as he put his bag down.

“Call me Pidge.”

“Pidge?” Keith was interested, and wondered what could even possibly lead to a nickname as strange as Pidge.

“Yeah. I’ve had the nickname since I was little. My-” Pidge stopped short, as though she wanted to say more, but wasn’t sure if she should. A silence followed that both parties were unsure of how to fill.

After a few moments, Katie, no, Pidge, spoke again. “Where are you from?”

Keith knew that Pidge meant it just as a way to fill the silence, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t consider it an incredibly difficult question. Where was he from? Born in South Korea, lived in foster care in southern California, then Utah, then California again, then Washington State, and now Arizona.

“California.” Keith finally said. He figured he’d lived there the longest, so it probably was the easiest answer. “Have you always lived in Arizona?”

“No,” Pidge replied, “We moved here 2 years ago. We used to live in Florida, but after everything that happened, my mom wanted to get away.”

Everything that happened. Keith knew that she was referring to her father and brother, and was suddenly very glad that Amara had filled him in.

“Katie, Keith! Come downstairs, please!” The voice of Mrs. Holt called up into Keith’s new bedroom. Keith was glad for the interruption, as he wasn’t sure what he would say next.

As he followed Pidge down the stairs, he saw Amara standing at the bottom of the stairs with one hand on the door. “I’ll be back in two weeks, Keith. Call if you have any issues.” And with that, Amara was gone, and Keith was now ‘officially’ a member of the Holt household.

“Keith! Are you hungry? Can I get you anything? Have you unpacked?” Mrs. Holt seemed to be spewing out questions a mile a minute, and Keith couldn’t keep up. He much prefered Pidge’s quiet conversations to Mrs. Holt’s excited energy.

“Mom, let him breath! I think if you keep up like this he might pass out.” Pidge’s voice had a joking tone, and she was smiling, but Keith was grateful for the interruption. He really did feel like he was about to pass out.

Keith, despite being a little apprehensive of his new foster family, could tell that they were good people. He knew Mrs. Holt would care for him, and be kind to him. As for Pidge, despite only knowing her for a few hours, Keith felt that perhaps they could get along. If Keith could get over his issues with social interactions, maybe even be friends. He knew she was trying to. For once in Keith’s life, things were looking up.

 _Wait. Stop. That’s not how it works. You don’t get to be happy. Remember the Parchell’s?_ Keith had to stop himself from physically wincing at the memories, and suddenly his positive attitude was gone. He mentally scolded himself for allowing that much optimism to begin with. This wouldn’t work out, he knew that much; something was destined to go wrong.

“Keith? Are you alright?” Mrs. Holt’s voice brought Keith back to reality. Keith had the fleeting thought that he really needed to stop daydreaming.

“Yes, Mrs. Holt, I’m fine, thank you.”

Mrs. Holt had a concerned look on her face that quickly shifted into a sympathetic smile. “Grace.”

“I’m sorry?” Keith quickly responded.

“Grace. Call me Grace.”

“Can I call you Grace?” Pidge responded, with a sarcastic smirk.

“Just try it, little girl.” Although the words were threatening, Keith could hear the laughter behind it, and felt that same piercing loneliness he felt every time he saw what he didn’t have. This time, Keith didn’t let his sadness show.

“Mom, can I go over to Alycia’s now? I helped get Keith settled, like you told me to.” Pidge’s was trying to come off as casual by playing with something on her phone, her round glasses almost falling completely off her nose, but Keith could hear the desperation in her voice. Whoever this Alycia was, Pidge really wanted to see her.

“Alright, but take Keith with you.”

“Mom, he’s not a toddler. I’m not going to make him follow me to my friend’s house.”

“Katie, it’ll be good for him to meet people in the area.”

Keith had to physically restrain himself from (rudely) reminding them that he was in the room, and capable of speaking for himself.

“Why would he even want to hang out with me and Alycia?”

 _“Katie.”_ Mrs. Holt spoke with a sense of finality, and Keith knew that there was no arguing with her. Whether or not he wanted to, he would be playing tag along to Pidge and her friend.  
Great.

 

Despite what Keith had said earlier, it really was hot. And now that he didn’t have the cool breeze from the open car window blowing on his face, he was starting to sweat. Pidge had informed Keith that they would be leaving for Alycia’s house in 10 minutes, and that they would be walking there. Keith didn’t know how long a walk it was, and didn’t want to make an uncomfortable situation even more awkward by showing up sweaty and gross, so Keith decided to ditch his jacket, and pulled his long black hair into a ponytail. Keith walked downstairs and was tying his sneakers as heard Pidge yell to her mother that they were leaving.

“Be back home for dinner!”

Pidge walked out in front of Keith, and opened the door. The pair stepped out into the bright sunlight and began their walk to Pidge’s friend’s house.

As Keith trekked along behind Pidge, he was incredibly glad that he had ditched his jacket. If he had thought it was warm in the morning when he and Amara had arrived, then he hadn’t seen, or rather felt, anything yet. It was only 12:30, and Keith felt as though there was no possible way for it to get any hotter.

“Yeah, well, it’s only June, so you’ve really seen nothing yet. Just wait till July rolls around.”

Keith didn’t realize he had spoken out loud.

Pidge suddenly turned to Keith and said, “Listen, I know this is going to be awkward for you, and it’ll be definitely be awkward for me, but just be friendly. The Contreras’ are a pretty chill family, so they won’t bother you too much, but they are gonna harass you a bit just ‘cause you’re new. Just go with it, alright?”

“Yeah, alright.” Friendly. Keith could manage friendly, right?

The walk to Alycia’s was short, and Keith found himself standing in front of the old house he’d noticed when he had arrived in the neighborhood earlier. The house was large, and very worn out. Unlike the Holt’s meticulously painted siding, there were chips all over this house. There seemed to be an endless variety of plants around, some that Keith didn’t even know could grow in this kind of extreme heat, and all along the driveway were chalk drawings of everything under the moon. People, houses, flowers, animals, and about a million and two tic-tac-toe boards.

Suddenly, a girl opens up the front door, and comes flying down the steps. She was tall, taller than Pidge, and had brown curly hair falling all the way down her back with dark tan skin. She smiled widely at Pidge, and showed off her mouth full of braces. Keith guessed this was Alycia.

“Pidgey!!” Alycia shouted, before practically leaping into the other girl’s arms, “I missed you!!”

“Alycia, it’s only been like, two days.” Pidge tried to sound nonchalant, but even Keith could hear the laughter in her voice.

“Yeah, but that’s too long!”

Pidge just rolled her eyes affectionately, and smiled in response.

Keith coughed, and Alycia turned her head. She wore a shocked expression, as though she had just noticed Keith’s presence for the first time.

However, her expression quickly changed from shocked to excited, and that large smile was back in place.

“You’re Keith right? You’re staying with Pidge and her mom! That’s so great! She told me you were coming!” Keith could practically feel the excited energy radiating off of the girl as she bounced up and down in front of him.

“Uh, yeah.” Keith put his hand on the back of his neck to pull on the hair that was there, before remembering that he had put his hair up in a ponytail.

The short answer didn’t seem to affect Alycia at all. In fact, she just seemed more excited than before, if that was even possible. “That’s awesome! Hey, how old are you?”

Keith, although a little confused by the seemingly random question, answered. “17.”

“That’s the same age as my brother! You guys can be friends! Come on, let’s go inside so you can meet him!” Alycia then turned around, ran up the front steps, and opened the door to her house.

“Yes, she’s always this happy.” Pidge answered dryly, upon noticing the confused look that still resided on Keith’s face. Pidge turned and walked up the front steps to join Alycia, and Keith followed.

Upon entering the house, Keith immediatly realized that the chaos from the outside of the house was nothing compared to the inside. The house wasn’t dirty, just… messy. There were things strown about everywhere. Toys, clothes, everything, yet not a speck of dirt. Keith could tell right away that a lot of people lived here. For there to be this much stuff, there was no way it was only Alycia and her mysterious 17 year old brother.

Keith also realized that Pidge must have spent a lot of time here, based on how comfortable she acted. Without any prompting, she walked away from Alycia and flopped onto the nearest couch. Keith figured that the only reason Pidge had let Alycia know she had arrived rather than just walking in was because he was with her.

Alycia turned and walked into another room, leaving Keith awkwardly standing in front of Alycia’s front door for a moment, before slowly shuffling after her into the kitchen. “Do you guys want anything to drink?”

“Make me a milkshake.” The muffled voice of Pidge shouted.

“Come in here and make your own damn milkshake.” Alycia yelled back. Keith smiled at the interaction as Pidge got up and walked toward the kitchen. He knew these girls were close, and it made him long for a friend he had never had. “Keith, do you want a milkshake? We’re making them, apparently.”

Deciding it would be rude to turn one down, he agreed. And honestly, why shouldn’t he enjoy a milkshake? Keith sat down at one of the old tables, figuring he would just get in the way of the two girls if he tried to help. The chair he was sitting on creaked every time he moved, and there were scratches all over the table, but the one thing Keith really payed attention to was the drawings littered all over the surface. They were clearly done by a young child, maybe Alycia had a younger sibling? It would explain the chalk drawings, and account for some of the stuff lying around.

A pair of footsteps came pounding down the stairs, and Keith was interrupted from his musings. “Yaya! Heard you were making milkshakes!” A man’s voice followed the heavy steps.

“Christ Lance! How did you even manage to hear Pidge from upstairs?” Alycia asked. Keith guessed that ‘Yaya” was a nickname for Alycia, and between that and Pidge, Keith suddenly found himself hoping that someone didn’t decide to give him a nickname as well. “Besides, I’m not making you one. Pidge and I making one for us and Keith!”

“Keith? Who’s Keith?”

This time, Keith mustered up the courage to actually say what he was thinking. “The guy sitting at your kitchen table.” Keith knew he had a smirk on his face, but didn’t bother to hide it.

Lance spun around so fast that he could’ve given himself whiplash, but he recovered quickly.

“So what’s an older man like you doing in my kitchen with two young children?” Lance said with a wink.

Despite the fact that Keith knew Lance was only making a joke, he couldn’t help but frown at the implications of the sentence.

“She’s my foster sister.” Keith said. He knew that the answer had been kind of plain, and didn’t leave much room for the conversation to continue, but he really hoped Lance would find a way. After all, the first thing Keith had noticed about the boy was how attractive he was.

Lance didn’t disappoint. “Well, if she’s your foster sister, and she’s my real sister, then who’s flying the plane?” Lance spread his arms wide open, and was smiling at everyone in the room. He looked as though that joke was the highlight of his life so far, and Keith thought that if he was a friendlier guy, he may have chuckled out of sympathy.

“Are you kidding me, Lance? That’s actually the worst joke you’ve told today.” Alycia replied. There was no hint of emotion on her face.

“Yeah, seriously Lance. I’m a big fan of shitty jokes, but that was literally the worst thing I’ve ever heard.” Pidge added.

Keith couldn’t help but agree.

“Aw, c’mon! You guys suck.” Lance said, pouting. However, less than a minute later, he seemed to be back to his normal self. “So, Keith,” he started, “Can I ask you a personal question?”

Keith wanted to say no, he really did, but with Lance looking at him with a huge grin and the _prettiest_ eyes he’d ever seen, he forced himself to say yes.

“You said that Pidge was your foster sister, which makes Mrs. Holt your foster mom, right?”

“Yeah?” Keith didn’t like where this was going.

“Which means you’re in the foster system, right?”

Keith really wanted to cut Lance off, but at this point knew he was in too deep. “Yes?”

“So what happened to your parents then?” Lance finished.

Keith didn’t even get a chance to say anything in reply before Alycia answered for him. _“Lance, eso es descortés! No le puedes a alguien por qué no tiene padres! Mamá estaría furiosa contigo si te hubiese escuchado!"/em >_

Keith didn’t know what Alycia was saying, but based on the tone and volume, he guessed she was pissed.

Alycia’s words had seemed to do their job, as Lance looked a little ashamed of what he’d said, so Keith couldn’t find it in himself to be that upset by the question. He clearly hadn’t meant to upset anyone afterall. Keith figured he was just curious.

“Sorry, Keith.” Lance started, after Alycia had finished yelling, “I don’t think before I speak.”

Keith could tell Lance was sincere, and Keith actually did want to be friends with the boy, so he decided it would be best if he just let it go. “It’s fine, dude. Don’t worry about it.”

Lance lit up at those words. “Great! So, Keith-”

“Hey, Lance! Did you ever put the clothes in the dryer like Mom told you to?” A feminine voice interrupted. “She’s gonna be home in like, 10 minutes.”

Keith almost laughed at the expression on Lance’s face. His eyes were wide, and he looked as though he had just been sentenced to death. Keith knew it may be cruel, but he didn’t have an ounce of sympathy for Lance.

“ _¡Mierda!_ Maria, talk to Keith!” Lance bolted up the stairs, and Keith was left staring at an empty chair.

That is, until ‘Maria’ filled the space. Keith immediately could tell that her and Alycia were related. He was able to see the similarities between Alycia and Lance, the same tan skin, the same pointed chin and dark brown hair, but between the two sisters, it was like they were twins. The only difference was an age gap and straight teeth.

“So, Keith. You just moved in with the Holts, right?” Maria asked.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah I did.”

“Where were you before?”

As much as Keith didn't want to think about where he was before, he figured he might as well answer the question honestly. “Washington.”

Pidge looked up from the conversation she had been having with Alycia. Keith had forgotten they were even in the room. Her eyebrows scrunched together, and her eyes squinted a bit. “Washington? I thought you said you were from California?”

Keith panicked. He didn't want Pidge to think he was a liar, but he just really didn't want to talk about his past. “I've just lived most of my life in California. Washington was where my last foster family had moved to.”

Despite Keith’s hopes that Pidge would move on, she didn't seem to be satisfied. “So where are you from from then? Like where we're you born?

Keith sighed. “I was born in South Korea. I came to America when I was 6.”

“You're a foreigner!? That's so cool!” Alycia shouted. At least Pidge was off his case.

“Who's a foreigner?”

Oh joy, Keith thought, Lance is back.

“Keith, apparently.” Maria replied.

“Wait. What's going on down here? Who’s Keith?” A new voice called. “Actually, answer that after you help me, Mom and I got groceries.”

A tall man walked into the room, and Keith was ready to get up and help if no one else did, because God, he looked like he needed it. His glasses had fallen almost completely off his nose, his clothes barely matched, and his long hair was falling into his face. He was clearly the oldest out of the bunch, but Keith got the feeling that Maria was in charge.

“Brandyn!” Alycia shouted, as she stuck her hands into the bag Brandyn had just placed on the table, “Did you buy more easy mac?”

“Yaya! Don’t touch the easy mac!” Brandyn shouted back. “Everyone, go grab a bag!”

Chaos erupted in the kitchen, As everyone got up and started running out the door. Two more kids came bounding from around a corner and bolted after them.

Keith figured he should probably go help, as he felt too awkward just sitting there watching everyone else work. As he walked out towards the car, he noticed Lance and Maria competing over who could carry more bags at once.

Keith just grabbed two bags and went back inside.

As he put the bags down on the first open surface he saw, (one of the chairs around the table,) a new voice called out to him.

 _“Quién eres?_ ” Keith turned around the find the source.

At the counter stood an older woman, who had started putting groceries in cabinets.

Keith recognized that she was speaking spanish, but beyond that, he had no idea. He figured that this was Alycia’s mother.

“ _“Mamá! Sé amable! Es el hijo adoptivo de la sra. Holt! Llegó con Pidge!”/em >_

Lance’s voice shouted back. Keith assumed that whatever he had said had answered his mother’s question. The woman had gained an excited look in her eyes, and frankly, it scared Keith a bit.

“Keith!” She stated, her accent heavy, “It’s so nice to meet you! Pidge had told us that you were going to be staying with them!”

Keith was unsure of how to reply, but the woman was staring at him expectantly, waiting for a response. “Yeah, it's good to meet you all, too.” That's friendly enough, right? Keith thought.

Apparently it was, because Lance’s mother turned away from Keith and went back to putting away groceries. By this point, the rest of the family had come back into the kitchen.

“Hey, Keith!” Maria started, “What's your last name? I don't think you ever mentioned it.”

“Mayong.” Keith replied simply. Keith was suddenly self conscious of how different he was compared to everyone else in the room. His pale skin compared to everyone's tan, how straight his hair was, while everyone else's was thick and wavy. In that moment, Keith was very much aware of the fact that he did not fit in. His last name was just another bullet on the list.

“Why are you living with a Pidge?” A small voice asked from behind Keith, and once he turned around, he was faced with a little girl with bright eyes staring up at him. Keith knew that she hadn't meant it to be rude, that she was just curious, but that didn't mean that the question didn't hurt him.

“Loren!” Although the sentence was one word long, Keith recognized the threatening tone used by Lance’s mother.

Apparently, Loren recognized it too, because she immediately ran and stood behind Brandyn.

The room was stuck in a painful silence for a moment before Lance’s mother spoke again.

“I’m Cecilia, by the way. Do you want something to eat? I can make you something if you're hungry!”

Before Keith even had a chance to answer, Loren spoke again.

“I'm hungry! Can you make me something?”

“Me too! Me too!” A little boy shouted. “Keith! What's your favorite food? I like chicken nuggets a lot, but I don't know if they're my favorite food.”

“Gabe! Yesterday you said you liked pizza more!” Loren said

“Yeah, but I changed my mind!” Gabe answered.

Although Keith had been paying attention only to the conversation between Loren and Gabe, he had just realized that the entire kitchen was up in discussion over the best food. Some of the discussion was in Spanish, and Keith couldn't follow it, but he really wasn't interested in following any of it. At this point, Keith was only aware of the fact that the kitchen was loud, and he was not enjoying it.

“Keith! You never answered me! What’s your favorite food?” Gabe asked Keith again, excitedly. This time, however, the boy had wrapped his arms around Keith's body, enveloping him in a hug.

Between the noise and the questions and the hug, Keith was about to panic. He couldn't handle this, he knew he couldn't. The family was too loud too excited too curious and just too much for him. Keith could feel the anxiety in his chest building, and he knew he had to leave. So he did. Keith abruptly pulled away from Gabe, and quickly walked out the door, heading back towards his temporary home. He didn't notice how the room had gone silent at his exit, or how angry Pidge looked, or the dejected expression that now rested upon Lance’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> "Lance, eso es descortés! No le puedes a alguien por qué no tiene padres! Mamá estaría furiosa contigo si te hubiese escuchado"br />  
> Lance! That’s rude! You can’t ask a guy why he doesn’t have parents! Mom would be so mad if she heard you!
> 
> “Quién eres?”  
> Who are you?
> 
> “Mamá! Sé amable! Es el hijo adoptivo de la sra. Holt! Llegó con Pidge!”br />  
> Mom! Be nice! This is Mrs. Holt’s foster kid! He came with Pidge!
> 
> (Thank you so much to Naoko_Andre for helping me fix the spanish translations!)  
>  
> 
> Sorry about the late update, I recently lost two members of my family so it's just been hard to find time to sit down and write. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out sooner. 
> 
> My Wonderful Beta  
> http://voxamissa.tumblr.com/
> 
> My Tumblr  
> http://mattmurdoxxx.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 3

“Keith, are you fucking kidding me?” Pidge stormed into Keith’s room about an hour after he had left Lance’s house. 

Keith had been lying on his bed facing up towards the ceiling for the past hour, doing nothing but watching the blades on the ceiling fan spin. He was so focused on the fan he hadn't even noticed that Pidge had come in. That is, until she started yelling at him.

“That’s was rude and you know it.” She started, after slamming Keith’s bedroom door shut. “You just met them, and then you storm out? For no reason?” 

“I wouldn't say that I stormed out.” Keith answered, but he knew he was lying even as the words came out of his mouth. He continued to watch the blades spin, hoping Pidge would leave him alone soon.

“Please, you were like a bat out of Hell!” Pidge answered. 

She paused for a moment, waiting to see if Keith would answer, then started speaking again. 

“Do you realize how upset that whole family was when you left? They all thought they did something wrong, that they offended you or something, when all they tried to do was be was friendly. Keith, what happened?” Pidge finished softly.

Keith decided that Pidge wasn't leaving anytime soon, so he finally sat up and faced her. He realized just how upset he had made her, and despite not regretting leaving the house, he did feel bad about upsetting everyone. 

He knew he owed Pidge at least some sort of explanation. “Listen. I….I just don't do well with new people, ok?” 

“Bullshit. You were fine when it was just Alycia and Lance. Hell, you were even ok when Maria came down. So what is it really?” Pidge answered. 

Keith really didn't know what to say. What was his issue? He knew Pidge had a point, that he was fine when it was just the small group, so how was he supposed to explain the panic he felt when the room suddenly overflowed with people, or how stressed a simple hug made him? 

“I really wish I could give you an answer Pidge, but I can’t. I panicked, so I ran. It was rude, and I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. Ok?” Keith flopped back down onto the bed. 

Pidge sat down on the corner of Keith’s bed. “You know,” she started softly, “I’m really bad with people too. Mom say’s I’ve got too much of a temper, and get along better with technology than people.” 

Keith turned his head towards Pidge. 

“When I first met Alycia, it was cause I yelled at her for spilling orange juice on my phone. She looked like she was gonna cry, and took me back with her to her house to make it up to me somehow. I met her whole family at once, and it was the most overwhelming experience of my life. They’re...They’re a lot to handle. But they are good people, and they were really upset that you left like that.”

“So what do you propose I do?” 

“I’m going back over again tomorrow to see Alycia. Come with me, apologize.”

Keith knew that it would be hard to go back there, and incredibly embarrassing to have to apologize for running away like he did, but he wanted to have some semblance of a good life here. To do that, he needed to get along with Pidge, and that family clearly meant a lot to her. “Alright. I’ll go with you.”

“Great. Now, enough of this mushy crap. Here. Put your number in my phone.” Pidge shoved her cell phone in to Keith's face. He hadn't even realized she was holding it in her hand.

Keith felt like he was gonna get whiplash with how fast the conversation changed. “Wait what?”

“Your cell phone number? Put it in my phone. So I can text you.”

“I don’t have a phone.”

Pidge looked at Keith with a shocked expression on her face. She looked scandalized, as if Keith had just admitted he had sent nudes to the Queen of England, rather than just not owning a piece of technology. 

“How do you survive?” Pidge whispered

“I just...do? I don’t know, it’s not really that big a deal to me.”

“No. Ok. That’s not allowed. I’ll be right back.”

With that, Pidge jumped up off the bed and sprinted out the door. Keith didn’t move, but heard a door fling open, some rumbling as though something had fallen off a high shelf, an exclamation of “Aha!” from Pidge, then a door slamming shut. 

Pidge rushed back into the room and practically threw a phone at Keith. 

“iPhone 5c. Got it when it was released, but I hated it. Went back to my 4. We can get you a number and activate it for you if you want.” Pidge was out of breath, and looked so excited, that Keith had to agree to taking the lime green phone, despite not really wanting it. 

“Great! We'll do it tomorrow, before we head back over to Alycia’s!”

“Wonderful.” Keith said dryly. 

The pair sat in an awkward silence, unsure how to continue the conversation. Luckily, they were saved by the voice of Grace Holt, calling them downstairs for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So, I'm not dead. Sorry for the excessively long wait. I feel like every time I've posted a chapter I've had some sort of excuse for you guys, so I'm sorry to throw another at you and say that on top of a serious case of writers block, I just started my first year of college and everything has been insane. Because of that, though, I really can't promise quick updates. These chapters are gonna take me a bit of time to put out. Honestly the only reason this chapter got done was because I'm writing this instead of the short story I'm supposed to be writing for a fiction writing class. But thank you to all the people who have commented, followed, left Kudos, ect, on this story. It means so much to me.
> 
> P.S.  
> Sorry this chapter was so short. It was something that needed to be addressed, but didn't really fit anywhere into the other chapters I had planned. Whenever I manage to get the next one out, it should be longer (and actually have Lance in it.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol guess who's not dead

The walk to Lance’s house felt even longer to Keith, despite the cooler temperature. It was an overcast, cloudy day. It would probably be thunderstorming by noon. Pidge had informed Keith to not be surprised by the storm. 

“It’s monsoon season, you know.” 

Keith knew that he had screwed up, and he knew he owed to it Lance, and the entire Contrera family to apologize for running, but it didn’t make it any easier for him. He wasn’t used to this. Keith wasn’t entirely sure what “this” even was. It wasn’t that he had never been shown kindness, and expressed compassion, it’s just something that he’s always been so detached from. It never mattered whether he actually meant his apology to whatever kid or friend or whoever that he had managed to upset, so long as he said he was sorry for the sake of saving face. 

But this, this was different. Keith felt guilty that he had hurt people who really hadn’t done anything wrong, and he felt bad for whatever embarrassment he may have caused for Pidge. This was something new entirely. 

Keith was surprised to realize that the feeling was not entirely unwelcome. 

The pair approached the large house at the end of the street, and Keith was upset, though not surprised, to find his hands shaking slightly. He longed for his jacket so he could hide his hands away inside the pockets. If he had to be honest with himself, Keith knew that he’d probably still be wearing it, despite the heat, if it weren’t for the looks he’d get from everyone around him. Keith settled for locking his hands behind him, forcing himself to stand up straight. He knew he looked mildly ridiculous in the military-esq pose, but he figured that it’d be better than to look like he was vibrating while trying to apologize. 

Keith turned to look at Pidge, and was shocked she looked almost, nervous? He figured that she would look a bit more excited (she was seeing Alycia again, after all. Keith hadn’t been around long, but he figured there was more going on their then either girl would care to admit.) Or maybe smug, because she was proved right, and got what she wanted, and Keith could tell that she seemed like the person to relish in personal achievement. 

But no. Rather, her eyes were downcast, and her mouth was pinched tightly together. She kept raising her hand and readjusting her glasses on her nose, pushing them up, then moving them back down again. 

Keith didn’t know exactly why Pidge was nervous, but figured that he was probably to blame. He had been the one to sprint away, after all. And Pidge had been pissed at him for it. Maybe she was mad at him for more reasons than him acting rudely. Keith felt obligated to make it up to Pidge. He didn’t know how, but he knew he’d figure something out for her. 

The two walked up the concrete steps of the house. It was a very different atmosphere compared to the last time they were here, with Alycia bounding up and down and shouting all full of energy. This time, it was quiet. Although, Keith did notice there was a collection of new chalk drawings on the driveway. 

Pidge knocked on the door, and to Keith’s surprise, it wasn’t Alycia who answered the door. Or Lance, for that matter. In fact, it was someone Keith hadn’t seen before. Keith felt a momentary panic, thinking they were at the wrong house somehow. Keith noticed different chalk drawings on the driveway, and feared that somehow, an almost identical house had appeared on the street and Pidge had gotten them messed up somehow. Keith knew he was being stupid, but if the woman hadn’t started started speaking to Pidge so excitedly as she answered the door, he would’ve ended up in a full-blown panic. 

The prospect of making a mistake terrified Keith. 

“Katie! It’s been so long! How are you!” 

“Vera, C’mon. You know I go by Pidge.” 

Keith chuckled slightly. Though the words Pidge spoke were harsh, he could tell Pidge didn’t mean them to be. He had a feeling that this “Vera” was one of the few people who were allowed to get away with calling Pidge by her real name. 

“Oh! Hello! Who are you?” 

It took Keith a moment to realize he was being spoken to. He noticed a slight accent on the woman’s words, and tried to mentally place it. ‘British, maybe?’

“Uh, I’m Keith. I- I’m Pidge’s foster brother.”

Keith is surprised to see Vera’s face relax into a softer expression. It wasn’t one of pity, which Keith was grateful for, but rather one that said “I can relate.” Keith knew he had a tendency to be on the denser side when it came to reading people, but that was an expression he knew well. He saw it in every foster kid he met. Keith wondered what could have put an expression like that on the face of woman who clearly was apart of as large a family as the Contreras’. 

“Well, I’m glad to meet you! You’re lucky to be staying with Pidge and her mom, they’re both lovely!” 

“Uh, yeah, yeah. I’m really grateful.” 

Keith couldn’t help but notice just how pretty Vera was. She had tan skin, and short, silver hair that was cut at her chin. The curls framed her face, and her eyes were a bright blue. Keith also realized in this moment that Vera couldn’t be related to Alycia’s family. Sure, the silver hair could’ve been dyed that color, but Keith hadn’t noticed anyone having blue eyes when he was here yesterday. In fact, the only feature that Vera seemed to share with anyone in the family was darker skin, and even then, he didn’t think it was close to the same shade of brown as the rest of the family. Keith almost wanted to hit himself when he realized something else. ‘She has an accent dumbass. Of course she’s not related. She’s from a different goddamn country.’ 

Keith was suddenly very grateful for the heat, as he could blame that for the slight red color he knew was appearing on his cheeks. 

“Well,” Vera started again, “Alycia is upstairs if that’s who you’re looking for, Katie.” 

“Are you two the only ones here right now?” 

“Well, Lance and Josephine are in the living room as well, if you were planning on saying hi to them too while you were here.” 

A smirk appeared on Pidge’s face. 

“Perfect!”

The pair stepped through the entryway into the house. Vera turned left into the kitchen, leaving Pidge and Keith to take off their shoes. Keith was once again floored by the amount of trust this family had with Pidge. They just left her to go where she wanted once she was in the house, not worrying about what she might touch or or if she’ll mess something up. 

Pidge turned to Keith once their shoes were off.

“Go talk to Lance, apologize to him first. I’m gonna go upstairs to see Alycia. We’ll come down later.”

Pidge’s tone was firm, and left no room for argument. Keith absentmindedly wondered if Pidge’s curt way of speaking was picked of from her father, because he had yet to hear Grace Holt sound anything more than “slightly demanding.” Who knows though, maybe it was just her own thing entirely. 

Keith simply nodded in response. 

Keith was all but shoved into the living room to the right of where the pair entered, and before he knew it, Pidge had turned and sprinted up the stairs. Despite being warned beforehand, Keith still felt oddly abandoned. 

He once again was forced to take note of how much stuff was just laying around. Toys, games, sweatshirts, shoes. So much stuff that Keith felt like he was sitting in the common room of one of the many foster centers he had occupied over the last 11 years.

Sitting in the center of the disaster zone was Lance, who hadn’t noticed Keith’s rather dramatic fall into the room. Rather, his attention was solely focused on a small child sitting in front of him. 

‘That must be Josephine,’ Keith recalled. Just looking at her, Keith could tell the girl was related to Vera. The same silver hair was curled in small puffs on the top of her head.

Lance was so focused on the baby, so enthralled, that Keith actually felt bad to be interrupting him. 

‘Maybe I should just go upstairs and find Pidge, or go home and come back tomorrow.’ Keith thought. 

‘Don’t be a fuckin coward!’ A voice yelled back in Keith’s head. It wasn’t his own, but the comments provided by the voice were so frequent that it may as well have been. 

Keith curled his hands into fists and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in through his nose. “He’s not here. Relax.”

“Keith? Are- Are you ok?” 

Keith’s eyes shot open, and saw Lance looking straight at him, concern marring his features. 

“What-oh. Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” Keith looked down, and began wringing his hands together in front of him. “I just came in, I mean. I just came here with, with, ya know, with Pidge because, uh, well-” ‘Great work Keith, keep stuttering, that’ll get him to forgive you.’ 

“Keith,” Lance interrupted, not even looking up from Josephine, “If you’re here to say that you’re sorry for running out so quick the other day, don’t even worry about it. My family can be a lot sometimes, I don’t blame you for trying to leave.”

“Really?” Keith was shocked. He had been a mess the whole way here trying to figure out how to make a bad situation better, and it turns out nothing was wrong in the first place. It didn’t stop Keith from apologizing, however. Pidge would have his head if she found out he didn’t even try.

“I’m still sorry for just leaving, though. It was rude to just run out, even if it was as warranted as you say.” Keith looked up and smirked slightly at Lance.

Lance finally turned his attention to Keith, and Keith swore that Lance could cure diseases with how brightly he smiled. ‘Chill Keith, you barely know him.’ Keith took a deep breath. He was glad the issue was settled. 

The small child in front of Lance gurgled happily, and was reaching outstretched hands towards him. Lance turned back towards her, and complied with the child’s demands, lifting the baby into his arms.

Keith thought the scene was adorable. 

“Come sit Keith! You haven’t met Josephine yet, have you?”

“No,” Keith replied, as he sat down cross legged on the floor, “I haven’t.”

“You met Vera when you came in, right? That’s her mother. And my sister in law.”

“Sister in law? Who is she married to?” Keith mentally recounted all the people he had met, trying to remember if any of them had looked old enough to be married. “Brandyn?”

Lance laughed. “No, no. Not Brandyn. He’s so focused on school that I doubt he’s ever even been in a relationship, let alone married with a kid. But yeah, you haven’t met my other brother, Alex. Him and Vera got married 2 years ago, and then had Josephine last year.”

Keith wasn’t really sure how he was supposed to continue the conversation. Keith settled for commenting on Josephine.

“She’s really cute.”

“You want to hold her?” Lance offered

Keith was about to decline (he never was good with kids,) but Lance had already detached the child from his shoulder and was holding her out towards Keith. 

Keith hesitantly reached out, and took Josephine from Lance’s arms. He tried to mirror the way Lance was holding her. ‘Ok, put her head on your shoulder, one arm supporting underneath her, one arm wrapped around her back-’

For a brief moment, Keith was somewhere close to proud of himself. That is, until two seconds later, when Josephine started wailing in his arms. 

Lance immediately took the baby back into his arms, whispering softly to her in what Keith recognized as spanish. It didn’t take long for her to calm back down.  
“Don’t feel bad Keith,” Lance started, “She’s not usually too big a fan of people she doesn’t really know.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Keith pulled at the pony tail that was once again tied at the bottom of his head. Lance was completely focused on Josephine, who had now placed back on the floor in front of him. Keith knew that it really hadn’t been something he had done wrong to make the baby cry, but he still felt guilty, and that Lance was blaming him for upsetting his niece. Keith also knew he needed to start the conversation back up to keep his thoughts from eating away at him.

“So..” Keith began, “what did you say to her to make her calm down?”

“Oh uh, It wasn’t- it wasn’t really anything. I was just calling her sweet and shushing her, ya know, not really saying anything.” 

Keith noted that this was the first time Lance had ever acted so unsure of himself since the he had met him.

“Does everyone in your family speak spanish?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah. My mother is from Cuba, and my dad’s parents are from The Dominican Republic, so you know. Spanish.” Lance giggled slightly uncertainly at the end of the sentence.  
“Do you know any other languages?”

“I mean, I grew up in Korea until I was 6, but once I got here, a lot of the foster homes really discouraged me from speaking anything but English, so I don’t know how much I remember.” ‘Yeah, “discouraged” definitely a kind word for it.’ Keith thought.

Lance hummed in acknowledgment before speaking again. “Do you remember anything about Korea?” 

“Not really, I mean, there's some little things, but nothing I'd care too much to actually look into, ya know?” That wasn't entirely true, but Keith figured that mentioning that what he remembered was being homeless and hungry might be a bit of a buzz kill. “I don't think I'd ever go back, there's really nothing there for me.” 

“And there's something there for you here?” 

Ok. Wow. Keith was shocked, partially because the conversation had gotten this deep, but mostly because he had actually opened up and let it get this personal. ‘This isn't ok.’ Keith's eyes started to wander around the room, looking anywhere but Lance. His hands clenched tightly into fists, his knuckles scratching against the rough carpet beneath him. 

Lance must've noticed Keith’s oncoming panic, because a moment later, he said “I'm sorry! You don't have to answer that! I just got really into the conversation and, you know, sometimes I just say things without really thinking about the other person and I was just curious but, like, that's a really personal question, and, well, this whole conversation got really personal and-” 

Keith couldn't help it. The next thing he knew he was laughing. He was laughing harder than he had in ages, all because Lance was rambling. Lance who made stupid puns and always had an answer was rambling because he felt bad. ‘and this isn't even the first time he's done this to me!’ He thought. Keith kept laughing, and soon enough, Lance himself joined in, followed by Josephine, who seemed to just enjoy the sound. 

Keith didn't even hear the sounds of footsteps entering the room behind him. No, what finally got his attention was when a man just walked in front of him and picked up Josephine. He walked into the room, picked up the baby, and walked out. ‘What?’

Lance didn't even acknowledge the man, which made the whole thing even stranger. The man clearly wasn't related to Lance, his skin was almost as pale as Keith's. ‘This guy just stole a baby! Who is he?!’

“Uh, Lance? What just happened?”

Lance, who was still smiling, replied, “Oh, that's Shiro!” As if that answered all of Keith's questions. 

Keith's confusion must have shown on Keith's face, because Lance continued after a moment. 

“OK, so you know Vera?”

“Yes?”

“Her sister, Allura, is married to Shiro.”

‘Ok. That makes more sense.’ Keith thought.

“It's nice that you're family is close with Vera’s” Keith commented.

“Yeah, well, we're kind of all she's got.” 

“What do you mean?” ‘How hypocritical of you, Keith. You get upset whenever people look into your life, but have no problem prying into everyone else's’

Lance threaded a hand through his hair. “I mean, ok. So, I don't have all the details, but like, there was some huge accident when Vera and Allura were, like, 16, and they basically lost their whole family. They were apparently going to be put in the foster system until an uncle that they had only met, like, twice when they were little offered to take them in. I know they're really close with him, but I'm guessing they were used to having a big family, 'cause every time Vera came here, she seemed a lot happier. And eventually she brought Allura with her, and it was like she was a completely different person than the one we had already met. Mamá noticed too, and she told them that they were always welcome. So yeah.”

‘that explains the way Vera looked at me earlier’ Keith thought. 

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Keith felt a vibration in his pocket. It actually made him jump before he remembered the new phone in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a notification.  
1 new message from: Pidge  
Did u sort out ur issues????  
Keith just typed back a simple “yes” before hitting send and putting the phone down in his lap.

Not even a second later, the phone was missing from Keith's lap, and in Lance's hands. Lance typed frantically, his fingers speeding over the keyboard much faster than Keith thought was necessary. 

“I didn't know if you had a phone or not. If I had known, I would've done this yesterday” Lance handed the phone back to Keith. On the screen was a new contact for “Lance ;)))” 

“Why the winky face?” Keith asked, confusion tinting his voice.

“Because it's fun, and we're friends, and friends put weird names as each others contacts in their phones.” Lance said this as though it was the truest statement in the world, with the same air of finality one would use when saying that water is wet, or the sky is blue.

And later that evening when he was trying to sleep, if Keith's chest was feeling a bit warmer than normal, well, he didn't have to tell anyone it was because a cute boy called him his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I survived my first semester of college (ya bitch made dean’s list it's lit), and I wish I could say that that is my reason for not uploading. Honestly the real reason is that I'm just trash and I suck at being motivated to do things. Honestly this time I'm not even gonna bother to make a promise on a faster update bc I know I'm not gonna follow up on it again and I'd hate to get all of your hopes up. HOWEVER, I will not be abandoning this story. I love working on it, and all the lovely comments and Kudos you guys leave honestly make my day every time I see them, so thank you so much for that. You guys are so lovely, and my main motivator to getting my chapters done. I was also determined to get this chapter out before season 2 aired (I'm hyped as FUCK), so I'm glad I at least managed to hold up on at least one of my imaginary deadlines lmao. But yeah, you are all wonderful, and I love you. Come be friends with me on tumblr, mattmurdoxxx is my URL, shoot me a message. If I don't answer it right away, I'm sorry, Mattmurdoxx is a side blog, so I don't ever get notifications for it, but I promise I'll answer as soon as I see it. Sorry for the longest authors note ever tho lol if u read all of this ur a star


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